


Chai Freckles

by noclouds



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon Non-Binary Character, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Slow Burn, Trans Male Character, author was tired of the cliche coffee shop au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-21 20:50:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20699660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noclouds/pseuds/noclouds
Summary: Julian works at Starbucks and has a complicated relationship with his job-- hates it when it's horrible (aka most of the time) but loves it when he gets to meet someone new. Especially when that someone has purple eyes he wants to get lost in.





	Chai Freckles

**Author's Note:**

> The most caffeinated and queerest thing you can read. Julian is a trans man in this story. 
> 
> If there's one thing you take from this story, please be nice to your Starbucks barista.  
With love,  
a Starbucks barista

“Double tall latte for Valerie!” 

Julian hated his job. Or rather, Julian hated his job when he was scheduled to his job. Any other times, he did like it. He liked that it kept him busy and concentrated on a task that never stopped. What he didn’t like, however, was the peak hours when his manager would schedule him. The times where the students wanted a quick caffeine pick-up before their morning classes or a refresh for those that had stayed up all night. During the weekdays, his store was also frequented by the 9-5ers, since it was near a couple of office buildings. (The college students were the worst ones. The adults wanted hot black coffee, the students wanted extra foam coconut milk lattes and no foam cappuccinos. One is next to impossible and the other doesn’t exist.) 

“Um, I’ve got a Venti Strawberry refresher for T.J.!” 

He didn’t like that he screamed so much, but with everyone talking, the music playing, coffee being ground, milk steaming, and people on register… it was impossible not to raise his voice to queue people to their drinks, especially during peak. He only hoped that no one thought him rude for it, as the anxiety was in the back of his mind. People loved picking on Starbucks Baristas. He didn’t have the time in his sequence routine to be yelled at, then apologize, and re-do whatever drink to continue without letting it affect him. 

He didn’t want to have an anxiety attack in the back room, again. 

“Okay, Deana, here’s your Iced Caramel Macchiato!”

Julian only worked peaks for a few reasons.  
\- His classes were at night.  
\- More tips.  
\- More things to do = Less thinking. 

He worked a midday shift once before and the lack of customers, stuff to refill, and the amount of extra time drove him crazy. So, he doesn’t do it anymore. Rather be overwhelmed and busy than bored out of your mind. At least, he thinks it makes more sense like that. 

He did like working at Starbucks. Just, not when there was a line of stickers about the size of his arm for cafe drinks and an equally, if not, longer line, for mobile orders that he’s had to ignore. And they just kept coming. The machines were old, he thought, recalibrating the shots nowadays hasn’t changed the fact that it takes 17 seconds for the espresso to pull. Julian took a deep breath, pivoted on his heel to the cold bar. With the customers staring at his back, he glared at the Frappuccino sticker. 

One mocha frap later, the line for mobile orders had grown exponentially as the people in the cafe crowded around the counter. This was more than their regulars and more than they were equipped with dealing with. Who the fuck turned off their mobile orders, he thought. It was a city, people adapt and will mobile order elsewhere. New York had a Starbucks on every block. 

Julian was tired of picking coffee grinds out of his nails, spilling soy milk on his apron, and slipping on ice cubes that fell from the scoop. He was just too tired to deal with all of this. Free espresso can only help so much.

He looked over to his shift manager, Nazali, who was making themself busy with brewing more Pike. 

“Nazali-- Can I please get a Bar 2?” He asked quickly, pouring hot milk into another latte. It was a little too far beneath the rim-- the milk hadn’t foamed properly. He shrugged it off and passed it off. Sure, it wasn’t “Starbucks Standard” but he wanted to see Howard Schultz deal with a 75-half hour peak with one call-out, and one no-show. 

Nazali turned, eyes wide at the number of mobile drinks, and nodded quickly. 

“You got me. Let’s do this.” 

There was a reason Julian wasn’t a shift manager. 

He freaked out too often to be able to control his stress levels during peak. No matter how many times the store manager told him that if he stayed calm, so would the customers; his face betrayed him every time. His brow tightly furrowed as he focused on making drinks as accurately and quickly as possible, if entirely messy too. Julian couldn’t even touch his hair for one quick moment to tuck a curl that had sneaked out from behind his beanie, least someone complains about it. He was both concentrated and entirely out of control. 

He grabbed the shots of espresso too soon as extra drops landed on his fingers. He hissed to himself, Nazali instantly picking up on it. That’s why they were a shift manager. Nazali was exceptionally in tune with the baristas on their floor. 

“Do you need to switch positions?” 

“No,” he picked his head up, “I’m good, it’s just a lot.” 

Julian could’ve sworn he was insane. Because, even with all of it, working on bar was his favorite position in the play. He didn’t apply to Starbucks to run around restocking, or stay by an oven. 

They smiled wide at him, seamlessly finishing up an espresso macchiato. 

“Then get to it.” 

He wanted to be more like Nazali. They were his trainer when he was hired, back when he was just a little green bean, and now they worked well together. Nazali often showed him tricks that didn’t undermine quality or laziness. 

Julian pulled the next sticker. And then the next, getting back into his routine. He panicked when he was alone and made a mental note to bring that up some time to his therapist. But without the stress of also completing mobile orders, arguably the ones with most customizations as patrons can have a field day on the app, things seemed a little more manageable. 

No one even yelled at him too. (Not like he was yelled at often, but still.) 

As peak started to slow, from three drinks to sequence, to just the last-minute office stragglers who wanted a black iced coffee, Julian managed to finally find time to fix his beanie, pulling it back tight upon his head and slipped the long curls underneath. As he was washing his hands, he noticed someone walking into the store as the door chimed. He was usually too busy to recognize faces while on bar or be cognisant to say hello to everyone that walked in, but there was something about the air that just, changed. Something about the energy in the room that seemed to pull your attention to the stranger. Only, there was nothing strange, just a new face. 

They were attractive, at first glance. Julian blushed, as their eyes locked. Really, attractive. And by the way they sent Julian a smirk, the person knew it too. 

The air around them as they almost glided up to the register was calming but demanded a watchful gaze-- Julian couldn’t place it, or why. He wasn’t too keen on aura or energies like his little sister but, he noticed things when he noticed them at least. Without knowing why the new customer’s being demanded your attention, he tried not to stare. 

The keyword is tried. 

He had to get back on bar anyway. He dried his hands quickly, kept his head down as he walked past the POS back to the bar. Working at Starbucks was like a whirlwind, not great for his mental state, but it happens. There would be moments of quiet and loud, and sometimes you never knew what you were going to get. This was one of those moments. Julian liked to think that he knew a majority of the regular customers, and the person’s face seemed familiar in a way, but he didn’t exactly know who they were. 

The stranger was the only other person in the cafe. Nazali had since ducked out to start the york order for tomorrow. Tilde was busy taking the person’s order and Julian turned to the printer.

[ Item: 1/1  
Items in order: 2  
* ASRA *  
Vt Iced Chaitea Lat  
8 pumps Chai  
Almond Drink  
Single ] 

Asra. Julian let out a sigh of relief. Asra, who ordered an easy drink with personality. Showed that they liked their flavors strong and still needed a kick. Nothing too insane, not a cold foam drink, not a frappucino (that would have broken his heart), and an overly specific stupid thing. Julian stared at the sticker way too long, overanalyzing its meaning and upon noticing this fact, quickly put the sticker on the cup to get it out of his hands. Queuing the shots, Julian grabbed the venti cup and set out to start pumping in the chai, however, still in his peak-muscule-memory rush, he angled the cup just sharp as chai concentrate splattered out of the cup and onto him. 

He winced, purely reactionary, before continuing. It was normal for Julian to be covered with many substances during his shifts, he didn’t think much of it. There would be times when he’d go on his break and only then realize how sticky he had become. You get used to the stickiness. You get used to the aches in your arches and the calluses on your fingers from hot liquids. Working at Starbucks has definitely upped his pain tolerance. 

Julian set the cup under the spigot for the espresso to pull. That’s when he felt eyes on him. He looked, taken aback by the brilliance of purple under white curls staring at him from over the back of the machine. 

“Hi,” they said. 

“Hi,” Julian gulped, “Esra?” 

“Asra.” 

Shit. As far as first impressions go, he was failing. 

“I’m sorry-- Asra, then.” 

The shot finished pulling as the machine spit out the last remaining drops. Julian still had a job to do. But, he could take his time. 

“No worries,” they said with a casual air to it, “It happens, and I did catch you off guard.” 

Julian poured in the espresso. Iced chais could usually take him under a minute. He didn’t know when else he would get the time to talk to someone like Asra. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he knew or noticed anyone like Asra. Or, if he would even see Asra again. It was part of his job description to greet and have a conversation with customers. “Learn something new about them each day,” their store manager would say, “Are we welcoming every customer by name?” Still, the script in his mind continued. 

“No, thank you. You deserve to have your name spelled and pronounced as it is.” 

Asra smiled. Julian couldn’t help but return it, pivoting towards the ice bins. 

“You might be the only Starbucks Barista like that.” 

“I’m not,” one scoop of ice, “but, I appreciate it. Names are important.” Half a scoop to fill the rim.

“Mhm.” Asra hummed, eyes no longer on the barista, but the drink in his hands.

“Well, um, how is your day?” Julian asked, grabbing the lid and sealing it on, long fingers curling over the rim to snap it into place. He held the drink over the machine, easier for Asra to grab, rather than make them work for it by picking it back from the hand-off plane. 

“Better now, thank you,” they said, fingers eagerly reaching for the iced chai, one hand reaching for the straws right behind the counter. Julian watched their moments, keen to remember every detail. He remembered how once he mentioned to a friend how some famous people were so good at making the one person they talk to at that moment feel like the entire world-- that’s what he was focused on, how he wanted Asra to feel as though they were the only two people in the store. 

So, he stared. 

Julian offered an earnest type of smirk. “No problem, have a good one.” 

“Oh, you’ve got some chai freckles on your face, Julian.” 

Asra gave him one last contented smile, like a kitten with cream, before turning around and leaving Julian standing there, stunned. And now aware of the stickiness on his face.

And that was the entire conversation as the door chimed with their exit. Julian watched as they walked down the street, straw between their lips. Asra turned the corner and disappeared. The only trace was left in the fast beat of Julian’s pulse. 

Julian hated working for Starbucks. But, he could see the appeal. The only thing that kept him from quitting was the people you got to meet. He had the regulars, the coffee freaks, the teenagers who think that adding cinnamon dolce syrup to a pink drink is okay, the dogs. He remembered in training about how that’s what the company wanted, not to be as shitty as it was, but to make connections with customers and to help people make their own-sort of home in the store. 

He could say he was just doing his job, being nice to Asra. It technically was. But, as he stood there, he realized how much he just wanted to talk to Asra, for the sake of just talking. He wanted to know them, why they were so appealing, and what their favorite take-out food place was. And everything in between. He took a deep breath. 

“Wow, you sure are smitten.” Tilde piqued up, watching him with their arms crossed by the register. 

“I’m not,” Julian said, shaking his head, wiping the bar down from the chai he spilled.

“They were a pretty one too.” He could feel Tilde’s smirk on the back of his head. 

He was almost upset that it was such a quick interaction, him and Asra’s. They seemed like the type of person you could sit around for hours with, discussing any subject that happened to cross each other’s minds. Julian wanted to run his hands through their soft curls, listen about their day, while absently searching the TV for a channel to remain on. Full stop, deep breath, let it go.

He didn’t respond, only tidying up what he could. It would be a few minutes before the next rush of college kids going to class. He ignored Tilde quickly ran to the back to restock his fridges with 2%. Some things needed to be done, and this was his job after all. Julian almost forgot about Asra, as he should; it’s creepy to imagine a whole life with someone you’ve barely met.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm super excited for the rest of this.  
(And holy shit, it's been two years since I posted a story. That's what depression does to you.)
> 
> If you liked it, please comment below to tell me what you think! Any kudos are also appreciated! ALSO: Tell me about your Arcana Apprentice, maybe they'll make an appearance!  
To get updated when this story updates, think about subscribing to it. You'll be the first to know!  
Or you can find me at [pequenoleon](https://pequenoleon.tumblr.com) on tumblr. <3


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